Well, for more on this, let's bring in Mark Dubowitz,
the Executive Director of the Foundation for Defensive Democracies. Thank you
so much, Mark, for talking to us. So the FBI has joined the CIA today in the
assessment that the Russian President was directly involved in the hack
attack, based on information, new information coming out that authorities say
come from in directly inside the Kremlin. So the question is what do we do
with this information?

Mark Dubowitz:

Julie, I know what we haven't done for eight years and
that's President Obama has really not responded at all to Russian aggression.
I mean, he has married this soaring, tough rhetoric with really inaction, and
so for eight years Vladimir Putin has had the President's number. And the
President has done nothing to push back against Putin, so it's no surprise
that Putin feels that he actually has complete impunity to do what he wants,
when he wants.

Julie Banderas:

John Carlin, the former Head of the Justice Department's
National Security Division tells ABC News and I want to quote it. "If
you mess with the United States, we will mess with you back." He added,
it's important the U.S. starts, "Taking actions to show others that it's
not open season on the United States' symptoms, systems, whether they are
private or government." How much of this could have been prevented by
the Obama Administration over the past eight years?

Mark Dubowitz:

Well, I think John is exactly right. John's a great man
and a great American, and I think he has a great insight into what has and
has not been done, and I think those words suggest that eight years of
Russian aggression, Russian cyber attacks, and really, cyberattacks by the
North Koreans, by the Chinese, by the Iranians. I mean, all our adversaries
were gunning for us and I think there's every indication that there was very
little that we did in order to create a strong message of deterrents that we
are the United States and don't mess with us.

Julie Banderas:

The question now is whether incoming President-Elect
Donald Trump is prepared to make an example of those who have attacked
America in cyberspace, considering he once said on a Fox News Sunday
Interview, "I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I
don't believe it. No, I don't believe it at all." And then shortly, and
I know you know about this, at 6 a.m., on Friday, he continued to defend
Russia and Putin and he Tweeted the following. Let's put that up on the
screen. "Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed
that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?"

And at a Thank You Event Thursday night with some of our
top campaign donors and fundraisers, Clinton said that she too believed
Russian-backed hackers went after her campaign because of a person grudge
Putin had against her. So the question is when is Trump going to believe this
information? And what is he going to do about it?

Mark Dubowitz:

Look, I think Donald Trump, when he is President Trump,
is going to have a much greater strategic objective. I mean, I think what he
is signaling is that he doesn't believe Russia is America's number one enemy.
He believes radical Islam is the number one enemy. I think he believes that
China is a rising power and he's challenging us in East Asia. I think he's
looking to forge some kind of relationship with Vladimir Putin to see if he
can solve some of these other problems. I think, because of that, he's not,
he doesn't want to pick a fight with Vladimir Putin before he actually
occupies the Oval Office.

And I think that's part of the reason why he is not out
on the attack right now. It is entirely possible for three things to be true.
Number one, that Donald Trump won the Presidency decisively. Number two, that
Democrats ran a lousy campaign. And then number three, Vladimir Putin and
Russian intelligence have been launching cyberattacks against the United
States. All of those things can be true.

Julie Banderas:

Okay. Let's talk about Rex Tillerson as Secretary of
State, because right now, there's a lot of pressure on behalf of Republicans
on President-Elect Donald Trump that he needs to believe this, but most
importantly, how does this affect the vote for Rex Tillerson, the CEO of
Exxon, and an unabashed admirer of Putin? His pick to be Secretary of State
does fall in a time now that could prove to be extremely controversial. Does
anything change here and do we need to hear from Trump on this?

Mark Dubowitz:

Look, Rex Tillerson's got decades of experience doing
major international deals in Russia, dealing with Putin. I'm not sure he's an
unabashed admirer of Vladimir Putin. He's certainly has a relationship with
Putin, and if you're Donald Trump, and your strategic objective is to take on
Iran, take on radical Islam, and try to neutralize rising Chinese power, then
maybe Rex Tillerson is the man you need as Secretary of State to deal with
Vladimir Putin. Clear-eyed, tough-minded, and with leverage and negotiating
skill, but I think you're right. It will be controversial through the
Confirmation process and we'll have to see how many Republicans actually back
the President on this.

Julie Banderas:

What do you think about the President? President Obama
has come out and slammed Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, and the sources now
that are confirming what most pretty much believed. It's not a huge shock. We
all kind of saw this coming, but what do you say to President Obama, who's
now dealing with this? And how, if at all, will this affect the Electoral
College that's getting ready to vote on Monday, the 19th?

Mark Dubowitz:

Look, I think it should have no impact on the Electoral
College. I mean, President Trump won decisively. He didn't win decisively
because of Russian cyberhacks. He won decisively because of eight years of
President Obama, of failed policies, of frustration amongst the American
people, in the heartland on jobs and economic issues, and also, a feeling
that America really was not winning anymore. I mean, I think that was a very
powerful phrase that Donald Trump used repeatedly, and I think a lot of
Americans believe that. That they were losing to Putin, they were losing to
the Ayatollahs in Iran, to the North Koreans who were ramping up their
nuclear weapons program, to ISIS that was on the rampage.

I mean, there was a real sense that we were losing
internationally, and I think this President, President Obama, that will be
his legacy. Of foreign policy failure and he's handing the next President,
President Trump, a number of major problems that are going to be very
difficult to solve, but I think they're going to have to be solved by
somebody who's decisive, that shows American power, and uses American
leverage on the negotiating table.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

The following is a transcript from an interview with Arthel Neville on Fox News with Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan policy institute. Mark Dubowitz comments on the death of Fidel Castro and its implications on US foreign policy (November 26, 2016).

Arthel Neville:

From the Cold War to the War on Terror, the shadow of
Fidel Castro felt over US foreign policy for nearly 60 years. He frustrated
presidents of all stripes: Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, and
liberals, but relations started softening during George W. Bush's
administration and gained steam under President Obama. Here to talk about
Castro's influence on American foreign policy, past and future, is Mark
Dubowitz. He's the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies. Good to see you.

Mark Dubowitz:

Thanks, Arthel.

Arthel Neville:

All right, let's start here. In what ways has US foreign
policy been dictated by Fidel Castro over the past 55 years? Will there be
any real changes between now and 2016, when Raul Castro steps down? 2018?

Mark Dubowitz:

Well, Fidel Castro has been in power for over 50 years.
He's bedeviled 10 US presidents from Eisenhower to George W. Bush, and in
fact, he even snubbed Barack Obama when Obama restored diplomatic relations
with Cuba and visited the island. He's been a thorn in the side of these
presidents. He's ruled over Cuba, 90 miles from Florida. He's responsible for
almost bringing the US and the Soviet Union to nuclear war in the early 1960s
and he has inspired and supported revolutionary movements and terrorist
organizations the world over, all united with one central organizing
principle, and that is anti-Americanism.

Arthel Neville:

Yeah. As you mentioned, President Obama normalized US
relations with Cuba last July, 2015. A year and some change later, critics
say that has proven to be more symbolic. So, Mark, I ask you, do you think
that once he gets in office, President Trump, can he bring about system
changes that would better benefit the people of Cuba, and how might he do it?

Mark Dubowitz:

I think he could. The deal that Obama struck with Raul Castro
unfortunately was a deal where most of the concessions were given to the
Castro regime; very little concessions provided to the United States, and
more importantly, the long-suffering Cuban dissidents who've been languishing
in the prisons of Castro.

Trump could come into office and he could keep the
embargo lifted, or he could restore the embargo, or alternatively, he could
use targeted sanctions, including human rights sanctions, to go after the
Cuban military and the Cuban dictatorship that continues its oppressive ways.

Arthel Neville:

Right. Well, you would wonder if other presidents hadn't
tried the same thing, but let's talk about the business part of this. How
would those systemic changes in Cuba between the US in terms of the economy,
but also not just that, Mark, the impression of this country as it is held by
other leaders, how would that reflect?

Mark Dubowitz:

The problem with the deal that we struck with the Castro
regime is that the Castro regime and the Cuban military are going to be the
prime beneficiaries of any economic opening with the United States and with
the rest of the world. You could restructure that kind of arrangement so that
the economic benefits actually go to the Cuban people and you could combine
that with tough financial and human rights sanctions against those who
continue to oppress the Cuban people.

I think that would be a fundamental shift in the Obama
strategy and I think it would also be a signal to the rest of the world that
we can't just believe because Castro is gone that Raul Castro and the Cuban
military are going to usher in fundamental changes in the Cuban political
structure and their relationship with the world. It is still a regime that
continues to support terrorist organizations and revolutionary movements the
world over.

Arthel Neville:

With that in mind, after Raul Castro steps down in 2018,
can you foresee a democratic election to choose the president of Cuba?

Mark Dubowitz:

Well, I can't foresee it unless the United States and
our allies does something to actually advance that. The problem is the Cuban
regime is as dictatorial as it was under Fidel and the Cuban military
continues to be as oppressive as it had ever been. It also continues to
support revolutionary movements and dictatorial regimes all through Latin
America, and so I think unless the United States under President-elect Trump,
and then President Trump, actually begins to speak forcefully for civil
liberties, for gay rights, for freedom in Cuba, my fear is that the lifting
of the embargo is just going to fortify the regime under Castro, under Raul
Castro, and his successors.

Arthel Neville:

But Donald Trump on the campaign trail did say that he
wants to have religious freedoms for the people of Cuba, so he does seem to
have a pretty strong stance on that, and, of course, he has so many of the
expats living in Miami in President-elect Trump's ear as well.

Mark Dubowitz:

That's exactly right. To reinforce the importance of
religious freedom, of sexual freedom, of human rights, and also the Cuban Americans
who were forced out of that country. Their property was taken away; billions
of dollars expropriated. Again, none of that was addressed in the deal that
was struck between President Obama and Raul Castro. That's a deeply flawed
deal that will need to be rectified, need to be renegotiated under President
Trump.

Arthel Neville:

Do you think Trump can rectify that? Do you think he can
do it?

Mark Dubowitz:

I think President Trump has said that he's a deal maker.
He's going to re-examine a number of different agreements and treaties the
United States has entered into and he's going to negotiate them on better
terms, and I think this would be a good place to start.